{"id":558326,"date":"2026-08-04T03:08:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T03:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/558326\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T03:08:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T03:08:08","slug":"new-zealand-football-chief-executive-andrew-pragnell-to-step-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/558326\/","title":{"rendered":"New Zealand Football chief executive Andrew Pragnell to step down"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u201cAlongside the massive impact it has on the individual wellbeing of all Kiwis, football has a unique ability to unite communities and build bridges both locally and internationally.<\/p>\n
New Zealand Football chief executive Andrew Pragnell will step down from his role in early 2027, after joining the organisation in 2018. Photo \/ Sylvie Whinray <\/p>\n
\u201cI am immensely proud of what we have achieved collectively as a football system and excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for football in New Zealand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe organisation is in a very strong position, with a clear strategic direction, a robust commercial and financial base, exceptional people and significant opportunities on the horizon.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile this decision has not been easy, I leave with confidence in the future of football in New Zealand.\u201d<\/p>\n
New Zealand Football has been financially successful under Pragnell\u2019s leadership, seeing a 400% growth in commercial revenue during his tenure, while participation has grown by 22% and Auckland FC joined the Wellington Phoenix as the country\u2019s second professional club.<\/p>\n
New Zealand Football president Julian Bowden said Pragnell\u2019s leadership has been outstanding.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has brought strategic vision, integrity and an unwavering commitment to advancing football in New Zealand,\u201d Bowden said.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder his leadership, the organisation has strengthened both on and off the field and he has built strong foundations for future success.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn behalf of the executive committee, we thank Andrew for his remarkable contribution and wish him every success in his next endeavour.\u201d<\/p>\n
New Zealand Football\u2019s board will run the selection and appointment process for Pragnell\u2019s replacement over the coming months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cAlongside the massive impact it has on the individual wellbeing of all Kiwis, football has a unique ability…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":558327,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[18516,20251,3937,6097,2245,3938,5213,71,117,111,139,69,274630,205,213,21694,61,1533,80],"class_list":["post-558326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-18516","tag-andrew","tag-chief","tag-down","tag-early","tag-executive","tag-football","tag-from","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-pragnell","tag-role","tag-sports","tag-step","tag-to","tag-will","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=558326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/558327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=558326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=558326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=558326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}